Well... Somebody had to get to 30 wins first, and at this point, the Los Angeles Dodgers seem to be a team of destiny in 2012. They were destined for new ownership and landed the "dream team". And coming off of their hot finish in 2011, it looked as if the Dodgers were destined to get off to a much stronger start in Don Mattingly's sophomore season as manager. But 30-13 (best record in MLB) and a 7 game division lead (biggest in MLB)? I'm not sure anybody saw this coming. And for the very select (and/or crazy) few who predicted the Dodgers would be the class of Major League Baseball through the first 43 games of 2012, none of them would have predicted the Dodgers would be doing so with out the help of one of the league's best all around players.
The Dodgers were off to a hot first month, and as the calendar turned to the month of May, they began to face some adversity and attrition. Opening day starters Juan Rivera, Matt Kemp, and Juan Uribe were all on the disabled list when the defending world champs came to Dodger Stadium last weekend. Don Mattingly started to write lineup cards that looked so bad, I was forced to coin the phrase "Kemp-ocalypse". Even one of the Dodgers most reliable players in 2B Mark Ellis experienced a freak injury that almost cost him his leg (literally). The thought was that the Dodgers would HAVE to regress with the call ups of Van Slyke, Sands, Hererra, DeJesus, and Sellers combined with the miniature benchings of James Loney and Dee Gordon . But in the last week, all six have made considerable (even heroic) contributions to the club's current 6-game winning streak. Between Scott Van Slyke's 7th inning 3-run home run at Dodger stadium on Sunday to complete the sweep of the Cardinals, and Tuesday night's 2RBI double by Ivan DeJesus while trailing a run with 2 outs in the 9th inning in Arizona, the Dodgers continue to get help from various lesser known players on a daily basis.
Los Angeles has a chance to complete their second consecutive series sweep and what would be their 6th of the season. The idea of this ball club getting one of the league's best everyday players back in CF (Kemp in a week), and one of the league's best utility players in back on the bench (Hairston in a few days), makes it hard to believe that the Dodgers can't build upon their lead in the standings before the All-Star break. Somebody had to get to 30 wins first, and with the four biggest payrolls in the sport (Angels, Phillies, Yankees, Red Sox) struggling just to stay in contention, it only makes sense that a team full of triple-A regulars would help an injury riddled club storm to 17 games over .500. Everyday someone else is taking their turn being the hero. The 2012 season was set up to be a season of destiny.... so far, so good. OH, soooo good.
Showing posts with label harang. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harang. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
TDB's Odds and Ends
The Los Angeles Dodgers have MLB's best record after the first 10 games of the season,. The team's 9-1 record has the Dodgers off to their best start since their World Title season of 1981. The team has benefited from the piping hot start of Matt Kemp, who recently received his 2nd straight (3rd straight if you count last season's final week)"player of the week" award. Kemp is off to a MLB best .487 batting average (among players with at least 30 at-bats), and leads all of baseball in HR's (6), RBI's (16) and runs (13). Looks as if Kemp is doing his best to remind everyone that he certainly is the player who deserved last season's MVP and has the ability to remain in that form, year in and year out. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise for ALL Dodgers, fans and teammates alike, that Matt didn't win the award last season. Because it certainly seems as if Matt is determined to prove all those Braun voters wrong. Here are a few other thoughts I have after seeing the Dodgers' first home stand:
- I think that Andre Ethier has gotten back that spark he once had (especially at home), and I think part of that comes from that fact that Kemp is doing what he has. Professional athletes are extremely competitive beings, and just being around the MVP-type caliber of Matt Kemp's play (both being beside him in the outfield and near him in the lineup, Ethier is going to feel compelled to at least TRY and best Kemp's contribution. Lest we forget, it IS a contract year. And if Ethier can put together a healthy season with numbers that rival that of Kemp's, then he can sit down with the GM and say "you gave this guy 180 mill, and we're neck and neck in stats, lets talk big money".
- If any team was due for the fortunes in close games to fall in their favor this year, it had to be the Dodgers. But their early season success isn't simply the law of averages finally giving the Dodgers a few W's. The proof is in the pudding. The Dodgers proved last season that you can have the best position player and pitcher in baseball, and still find ways to lose close games. And it came from the rest of the lineup being extremely underwhelming. While Ned Colletti put together another one of his annual bargain bin free agency shopping sprees. This years crop of yawn-inducing 1 and 2-year contracts actually seem to be providing a little bit of balance. I hate giving Colletti ANY kind of credit but this roster feels stronger than last years.
* AJ Ellis gets on base, Dioner Navarro/Rod Barajas never did.
* Mark Ellis = Jamey Carroll with stronger bat/glove
* Adam Kennedy and Jerry Hairston platooning = Less Uribe.
* Capuano and Harang > Kuroda and a vacant 5th slot
* Keeping Juan Rivera around works with protection Kemp and/or Ethier
- Dee Gordon will continue to give us the maddening ups and downs that are guaranteed when you have a rookie starter in his first full season. Take yesterday for example: letting a fairly easy ball get right by him costing Kershaw a chance at the win. But that play was preceded by a fantastic over the shoulder catch, and followed by a heroic 2-strike walk-off single through the left side of the infield. Patience is a virtue when it comes to following the paths of rookies with electric talent like Dee's. They tend to handle the extremely hard plays with ease, and botch the easy ones. But the end result to these growing pains could be something beautiful.
- It's GREAT to have Vin Scully back in the booth at Dodger Stadium after getting over a serious cold that kept him bed ridden for a number of days. Dodger Stadium celebrated their 50th anniversary on opening day and there was a glaring absence. The man who has been the voice of the Dodgers for every one of those 50 seasons (and then some) fortunately returned in time to help Major League baseball celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. His first hand accounts of Jackie breaking the color barrier and forever changing history, could never be replaced. For a moment there, we all got a glimpse of what life is going to be like when Vin is no longer the voice of the Dodgers. Odds are the organization will find a suitable talent to fill the booth when Vin has decided to call it a career. But you can't ever replace a legend, and those few games reminded us how lucky we all are to have the standard in hall of fame broadcasting.
Cheers.
- I think that Andre Ethier has gotten back that spark he once had (especially at home), and I think part of that comes from that fact that Kemp is doing what he has. Professional athletes are extremely competitive beings, and just being around the MVP-type caliber of Matt Kemp's play (both being beside him in the outfield and near him in the lineup, Ethier is going to feel compelled to at least TRY and best Kemp's contribution. Lest we forget, it IS a contract year. And if Ethier can put together a healthy season with numbers that rival that of Kemp's, then he can sit down with the GM and say "you gave this guy 180 mill, and we're neck and neck in stats, lets talk big money".
- If any team was due for the fortunes in close games to fall in their favor this year, it had to be the Dodgers. But their early season success isn't simply the law of averages finally giving the Dodgers a few W's. The proof is in the pudding. The Dodgers proved last season that you can have the best position player and pitcher in baseball, and still find ways to lose close games. And it came from the rest of the lineup being extremely underwhelming. While Ned Colletti put together another one of his annual bargain bin free agency shopping sprees. This years crop of yawn-inducing 1 and 2-year contracts actually seem to be providing a little bit of balance. I hate giving Colletti ANY kind of credit but this roster feels stronger than last years.
* AJ Ellis gets on base, Dioner Navarro/Rod Barajas never did.
* Mark Ellis = Jamey Carroll with stronger bat/glove
* Adam Kennedy and Jerry Hairston platooning = Less Uribe.
* Capuano and Harang > Kuroda and a vacant 5th slot
* Keeping Juan Rivera around works with protection Kemp and/or Ethier
- Dee Gordon will continue to give us the maddening ups and downs that are guaranteed when you have a rookie starter in his first full season. Take yesterday for example: letting a fairly easy ball get right by him costing Kershaw a chance at the win. But that play was preceded by a fantastic over the shoulder catch, and followed by a heroic 2-strike walk-off single through the left side of the infield. Patience is a virtue when it comes to following the paths of rookies with electric talent like Dee's. They tend to handle the extremely hard plays with ease, and botch the easy ones. But the end result to these growing pains could be something beautiful.
- It's GREAT to have Vin Scully back in the booth at Dodger Stadium after getting over a serious cold that kept him bed ridden for a number of days. Dodger Stadium celebrated their 50th anniversary on opening day and there was a glaring absence. The man who has been the voice of the Dodgers for every one of those 50 seasons (and then some) fortunately returned in time to help Major League baseball celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. His first hand accounts of Jackie breaking the color barrier and forever changing history, could never be replaced. For a moment there, we all got a glimpse of what life is going to be like when Vin is no longer the voice of the Dodgers. Odds are the organization will find a suitable talent to fill the booth when Vin has decided to call it a career. But you can't ever replace a legend, and those few games reminded us how lucky we all are to have the standard in hall of fame broadcasting.
Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)